The GAANN Program

The Graduate Assistantships in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program provides fellowships through academic departments to assist graduate students with excellent records who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course study at the institution in a field designated as an area of national need: biology; chemistry; computer and information sciences; engineering; mathematics; nursing; physics; and educational assessment, evaluation and research.

The GAANN program at MSE

The program at MSE recruits Ph.D. students from undergraduates with superior ability and demonstrated financial need. These students would normally enter the work force with their baccalaureate degree or might pursue graduate studies in other majors. Our interdisciplinary program explicitly seeks to increase the pool of traditionally underrepresented students by soliciting applications from disciplines such as the biological and physical sciences, for which the student population is larger and hence there are larger numbers of the targeted groups. All students in good standing are supported throughout their studies and graduate with a Ph.D. within five years. The GAANN Fellowships support the first year for students with non-traditional academic backgrounds, when they take courses that provide the expertise expected of incoming students with conventional (CHE or MSE) training. The Fellows receive at least one year of supervision in teaching at UC Davis and a local community college, as well as professional advising. We encourage participation in a year-long program focusing on professional development and leadership and assist the graduate students with job placement in academia or industry.